1. Field of Invention
The present invention is related to shopping list generators, in general, and more particularly to stand-alone shopping list generators that use scanned product identifying labels as input.
2. Description of Prior Art
Many products sold in the United States today are labeled with machine-readable universal product code (UPC) labels. The machine readable UPC label displays a bar code that encodes a unique product identification code associated with the labeled item. A product database is necessary to associate the product identification code with specific product information such as manufacturer, name, sized, color, and etc.
UPC barcode symbology encodes the product identification code into the width of and spacing between a series of vertical bars. Each bar width and each space between bars is called an element of the barcode. UPC barcodes are read with an optical scanner that illuminates the label and measures the barcode element sizes in the reflected light. The product identification code is decoded from the element sequence.
In the UPC system, widely used in retail sales, products are assigned a product identification code called a global trade item number (GTIN). The GTIN is a 14-digit number. The most significant digit, digit 14, is called the indicator digit and is used to indicate packaging level. The indicator digit is always zero for items packaged and labeled for retail sale. The next most significant digit, digit 13, is part of the manufacturer's identification code. The barcode label encodes the significant (nonzero) digits of the assigned GTIN. Barcode symbologies widely used in retail product labeling are UPC-A, EAN-13, and EAN-8, which encode twelve, thirteen, and eight significant digits respectively. Digit 13 is always zero in GTINs assigned to companies using the UPC-A symbology. GTINs assigned to companies using the EAN-8 symbology always have 6 zeroes. In this way the chosen barcode symbology encodes all of the significant (nonzero) digits of the assigned GTIN.
A developing technology in product labeling is radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. RFID labels, also called RFID tags, are electronic labels, programmed with a product identification code. An RFID reader illuminates the RFID label with a radio frequency signal transmission. The RFID label receives energy from the illumination signal and uses the received energy to transmit its product identification code back to the RFID reader. RFID labeling is currently more expensive than barcode labeling, but is finding uses in product labeling for higher end products. RFID technology is already used in supply chain management and will eventually be widely used for individual product identification. A leading RFID system uses the same GTIN numbers assigned for use with UPC labels. RFID labels can accommodate numbers larger than fourteen digits. These labels may encode a product serial number in addition to the GTIN product identification number, allowing individual products to be tracked.
Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are electronic organizers widely used to keep track of personal information. PDAs offer personal scheduling, and handy to do list functions. Most PDAs provide interfaces for rapid transfer of information into and out of the PDA. An infrared interface called IrDA is widely available on PDAs for line-of-sight transfer of data. Radio frequency (RF) interfaces such as Bluetooth and WiFi are available on many PDAs and offer flexible data transfer at distances up to several hundred feet.
Before UPC product labeling, products on store shelves were individually marked with a price tag. The price was entered into a cash register that totaled the cost of products purchased. Product inventory was counted by hand regularly to determine what to reorder.
Since the advent of UPC labeling, the point of sale terminal has become part of a sophisticated computer system that tracks product price and inventory instantly. Labor costs associated with inventory are down and inventory accuracy is much improved. Efficiency gains throughout the supply chain have been realized.
In contrast, consumers still write shopping lists manually, with pencil and paper. A shopping list is often written from the memory of what was consumed and a quick scan of pantry shelves. The manual process is imperfect leading to forgotten products and extra shopping trips.
What is needed is a stand-alone shopping list generator that is small enough and durable enough to operate in the environment where products are consumed and discarded. The prior art does not provide for a stand-alone device that will generate a shopping list from scanned items.